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> Also, broccoli has more protein per calorie than beef. It looks like this might be a myth. I'd never heard this claim before so decided to do some googling.

by tcfunk 8y ago

> Also, broccoli has more protein per calorie than beef. It looks like this might be a myth. I'd never heard this claim before so decided to do some googling. However, I am surprised to learn that broccoli has a substantial amount of protein, regardless of whether or not it's "more than beef".

injb 8y ago
You're right to be skeptical - statements like that ignore bioavailability. You won't absorb anything like 100% of the protein from broccoli.
- mikehotel 8y ago
  Lower bioavailability in plant sources of protein does not seem to hinder their ability to help maintain positive nitrogen balance, a key to building muscle mass. Read https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6686252/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6686252/ Via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1ajCmi1jk&feature=share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1ajCmi1jk&feature=share
Isamu 8y ago
Could be the "per calorie" qualifier - you'd need to eat a large pile of broccoli, since beef often has a lot of calories in fat.
saiya-jin 8y ago
This is old vegetable-vs-animal proteins issue. Non-animal proteins don't contain all aminoacids for the human body to be able to absorb it. Only meat & diary products naturally do. What you can do, and vegetarians/vegans have been doing, is to pair it with another plant product that is also non-complete, but has a different composition of these amino acids. Mixed together, they end up providing some sort of complete protein (meaning you have to know what to mix with what, in what ratio). Or just mix it with some animal protein. That's why broccoli is dense with protein, but most if not all just goes through your body, depending what you consume it with. This is my fitness-guy understanding, please correct me if it's incorrect.
- mikehotel 8y ago
  This may help improve your understanding. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.0000018905.97677.1f https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.00000189...
  - appleiigs 8y ago
    to save people a click... "the results show that any single one or combination of these plant foods provides amino acid intakes in excess of the recommended requirements." "A vegetarian diet based on any single one or combination of these unprocessed starches (eg, rice, corn, potatoes, beans), with the addition of vegetables and fruits, supplies all the protein, amino acids, essential fats, minerals, and vitamins (with the exception of vitamin B12) necessary for excellent health"
- will_brown 8y ago
  Hemp protein contains 20 amino acids and all 9 essential amino acids the body can’t produce.

by tcfunk 8y ago

injb 8y ago

You're right to be skeptical - statements like that ignore bioavailability. You won't absorb anything like 100% of the protein from broccoli.

mikehotel 8y ago
Lower bioavailability in plant sources of protein does not seem to hinder their ability to help maintain positive nitrogen balance, a key to building muscle mass. Read https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6686252/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/6686252/ Via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1ajCmi1jk&feature=share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1ajCmi1jk&feature=share

Isamu 8y ago

Could be the "per calorie" qualifier - you'd need to eat a large pile of broccoli, since beef often has a lot of calories in fat.

saiya-jin 8y ago

This is old vegetable-vs-animal proteins issue. Non-animal proteins don't contain all aminoacids for the human body to be able to absorb it. Only meat & diary products naturally do. What you can do, and vegetarians/vegans have been doing, is to pair it with another plant product that is also non-complete, but has a different composition of these amino acids. Mixed together, they end up providing some sort of complete protein (meaning you have to know what to mix with what, in what ratio). Or just mix it with some animal protein. That's why broccoli is dense with protein, but most if not all just goes through your body, depending what you consume it with. This is my fitness-guy understanding, please correct me if it's incorrect.

mikehotel 8y ago
This may help improve your understanding. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.0000018905.97677.1f https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.00000189...
- appleiigs 8y ago
  to save people a click... "the results show that any single one or combination of these plant foods provides amino acid intakes in excess of the recommended requirements." "A vegetarian diet based on any single one or combination of these unprocessed starches (eg, rice, corn, potatoes, beans), with the addition of vegetables and fruits, supplies all the protein, amino acids, essential fats, minerals, and vitamins (with the exception of vitamin B12) necessary for excellent health"
will_brown 8y ago
Hemp protein contains 20 amino acids and all 9 essential amino acids the body can’t produce.